Can I use my Trabant as a daily
driver, or does it have to be a "collector" car?

Aren't two cycle cars illegal?

Hold on, what is a two cycle engine?

What's this I read about mixed gas?

How do I get my
new Trabant home?

Who can fix my Trabant?

What about parts, where can I get
them?

Why are some cars listed with 6 volt
electrical systems, while others are 12 volt?

What condition are your Trabants in?

How original are the Trabants?

Can I buy an unrestored project car
for less money?

If Trabants were built until 1991, why
are all of your cars from the 60s and 70s?

But people are selling newer Trabants in the United States, I saw one on eBay,
how is that possible?

Is that a Trabant in Harry Potter and
the Chamber of Secrets?

So has the Trabant ever been used in a
movie?

Didn't U2 use some Trabants in a tour?

Why should I buy a Trabant from SHOC Auto?

SHOC Auto, Inc. is a U.S. company and
is licensed and bonded as a Minnesota automobile dealership. We are not a
foreign company selling cars on eBay, and we do not charge you for shipping
from Europe. You can come and visit us and see our cars before you buy it.
There are no hidden costs, damage, or shipping hassles with our car. Want to
know more? See our contact page and talk to
us!

Do your Trabants come with a warranty?

YES! SHOC Auto is now including a one
year parts warranty on all of the
Trabants we import.

Are the Trabants street legal
in the U.S.?

Absolutely! These cars are legally
imported to meet all DOT and EPA regulations. You can title and register your
Trabant in any state. Please check local emissions laws before purchasing,
however.

Can I use my Trabant as a daily
driver, or does it have to be a "collector" car?

That's entirely up to you. You can
use it as your daily driver, a weekend only car, or lock it up and just admire
it. There are no legal restrictions that apply to a Trabant that do not
apply to any other car.

Aren't two cycle cars illegal?

No. New emissions laws are slowly making new two cycle engine obsolete in the few places they still exist, but
the Trabant is not a new vehicle. Because of their age, and the fact that most
people own older cars as collector cars, not daily drivers, the EPA has
exempted them from the emissions laws . This doesn't mean you locality won't
still want to test it, however.

Hold on, what is a two cycle engine?

A two cycle, or two stroke, engine
is an internal combustion engine, just like the standard four cycle engine found
in all modern cars, lawnmowers and motorcycles. A two cycle engines, in
general, are much simpler engines. In general they do not have a standard cam
operated valve train, or an oil sump. They use oil injected into the
combustion chamber or mixed gas, like the Trabant uses, for lubrication. The
name comes from the fact that there are two cycles or strokes between every
firing in the engine. The piston goes down after the spark plug fires, it then
goes up and the spark plug fires again. In a four cycle engine, the piston
goes up and down twice between each firing.

What's this I read about mixed gas?

Because the Trabant engine is a two
cycle engine (like outboard motors, dirt bikes and weed whackers) they require
mixed gas. Unlike some modern two cycle (or two stroke) engines that have oil
injection systems, the Trabant uses mixed gas. Two cycle oil must be added to
the gas in a Trabant at a ratio of 50:1, meaning for every 50 gallons of gas, you add one
gallon of oil. For a full 6.4 gallon tank of gas you will need to
add about a half a quart of two cycle oil.

While there are no Trabant mechanics
in the United States, just about any competent shop should be
able to work on one. They are extremely simple cars, and there is just not
much that can go wrong with them. Even many non-mechanically inclined owners
say they can work on their own cars. SHOC Auto is also working on translating
the factory service manual for the Trabant and can provide a copy in German
with each car purchased

What about parts, where can I get
them?

SHOC Auto will be happy to work with
you for all of your parts needs. Through our suppliers in Germany, we can get
any new parts you need. SHOC will also soon be stocking some commonly needed
new parts as well as some used parts to repair your trusty Trabant. See our
Trabant
parts page for available parts and a cross reference chart to find parts
in the U.S.

Why are some cars listed with 6 volt
electrical systems, while others are 12 volt?

All modern cars use 12 volt
electrical systems, and newer Trabants fall into that category. Older
Trabants, however, were built with 6 volt systems, including all of the cars
we are allowed to import. So why are some of our cars 12 volt cars? Many
Trabants were upgraded over the years as they needed repairs. The Trabant is
so simple, and new cars were so hard to get, that upgrading an older Trabant
was a very common practice. Consequently, some of our cars have been upgraded
to 12 volt systems.

What condition are your Trabants in?

All of our Trabants are in excellent
shape. They are mechanically repaired as needed and are repainted to rebuild
them to original condition. Please see our
Inventory
page to see pictures of each car in our inventory to see what each looks
like.

How original are the Trabants?

That varies by the car. Some
Trabants are very original, others have had extensive updating as they are
repaired, and are not very original to the year they were built. If
originality is important to you, let us know and we will work with you to find
you the right car.

Can I buy an unrestored project car
for less money?

Yes, but you won't save as much as
you think. Shipping Trabants over from Germany and legally importing
them into the United States is a major part of the cost of the Trabants we
sell. If you are seriously looking for a project car, let us know, and we'll
work with you to get exactly what you want.

If Trabants were built until 1991, why
are all of your cars from the 60s and 70s?

This is the part of importing cars
into the United States, the Government only allows us to legally import cars
over 25 years old. Eventually you may see newer cars in the U.S. but not until
they are 25 years old.

But people are selling newer Trabants in the United States, I saw one on eBay,
how is that possible?

Did you see the note about no
American title? There are some newer Trabants in the United States, but they
are, for the most part, not street legal.

Is that a Trabant in Harry Potter and
the Chamber of Secrets?

No, although it's a very similar
looking car, the obvious give-away that it's not a Trabant is the
unusual b -pillar behind the side windows. That car is actually a Ford Anglia
built in England in the early 1960's.

So has the Trabant ever been used in a
movie?

Actually, there is a movie named
after the Trabant: Go Trabi, Go! A German movie about an East
German family coping with reunification in the early 1990s. Sadly, it's not
available here in the U.S. A Glacier Blue P601 Universal is also
prominently featured in the independent film
Everything is Illuminated.

Didn't U2 use some Trabants in a tour?

Yes, U2 used several Trabants in
their ZooTV tour promoting their Achtung Baby album. See some of them in out
Trabant
Pics section. Seven cars were transformed for the tour. Where are they
now? From the information I've found, one is in the Hard Rock Cafe in Berlin,
three are in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and one is for sale in England.
I'm not sure about the other two. Check out the
links
page to see more info.